Of all the people who helped start this incredibly period of success we’ve experienced as Gonzaga fans, there’s one man whose name ranks above all else as the coolest name among Gonzaga trendsetters. Casey Calvary is a great name (who doesn’t love alliteration), Dan Dickau is fantastic (see above), but no one – and we mean no one, dear FIBbers – can hold a candle to the man, the myth, the Aussie: Axel Dench.

That’s right, Free Ira Brown is back, and in our latest episode, our heroes welcome a Gonzaga legend. The great Axel Dench joins us to discuss his role in paving the way for 20 years of sustained excellence, how he got to Gonzaga and how to eat on $16 a day.

Oh yeah, we may or may not fanboy over his role in Star Wars, Episode III. He has his own action figure!

Those stories, plus: Bulldogs good. Broncos bad. We run through the plethora of fun stats and records set in Gonzaga’s demolition of Santa Clara, and how we completely accurately called this game. We also look ahead to BYU in a completely timely, not at all in-last-week’s-pod-cause-we’re-dumb preview of our trip to Utah and see if San Diego (who recently lost to … Santa Clara) can put up a fight in the Kennel.

And finally, we steal an exercise from our friend Gonzaga Guru (@GonzagaGuru on twitter) and put together our position-by-position, all-class team. Confused? Don’t worry, Adam will explain it wonderfully. We had a lot of fun with this one.

All this and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do come on a trip down under with us, won’t you?

Normally, we’d have something here about how Gonzaga put to lowly WCC foes to bed, and try to make it somewhat cute and/or funny. But this time, we have a sincere message: congrats to new Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Edgar Martinez.

It only took 10 years (about nine too long if you ask us), but the baseball writers finally got things right.

Which has nothing to do with Free Ira Brown, but seemed worth mentioning nonetheless.

But fear not, dear FIBber, the pod is back with its usual shenanigans. And in our latest episode, our heroes review the wins over Loyola Marymount in LA and over the Pilots our home-away-from-home, Portland.

Those stories, plus we dip our toes into the Triple Tower lineup, have a moment with Heister, wonder if it’s time to start worry about Zach’s shooting and curse BYU’s women.

We also take the time to protect ourselves from the flailing hands of Nick Emery, the middle-aged hands of TJ Haws and the hulking hands of Yoeli Childs in our BYU preview. We also play Santa Clara this week, but they’re terrible so…bleh.

And finally, it’s the return of an old friend as we fish around for a very positive cinematic Top 3.

All this and more on this week’s episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do join in the positivity, won’t you?

They say it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. We can debate the axiom’s merits, but thankfully for us Gonzaga fans, what isn’t much of a debate is this: the Bulldogs finished the weekend a bit stronger your friends here at Free Ira Brown.

Yes, dear FIBbers, we’re back, though admittedly not at full strength. In our latest episode, our heroes attempt to recover from the weekend in time to bring you a breakdown of Gonzaga’s exciting win in San Francisco. We exalt in Brandon’s brilliance, Baby Daddy’s outstanding second half and Tillie’s best game this season.

Those stories, plus we played Pacific in one of the least memorable games in recent…uh…memory, we look ahead to the games against LMU and Portland this weekend, Gonzaga’s women set another new ranking record and Zykera Rice is pretty awesome.

And finally, in honor of whomever those people were who called the San Francisco game, we revisit some of the phrases/actions/habits of announcers which drive us crazy (spoilers: Chris and Marty do not see eye to eye about the effects of momentum).

All that and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do help change the momentum with us, won’t you?

As conference play begins, Gonzaga’s roster is starting to look like what we all hoped it would, and Free Ira Brown is back to provide a closer look at the return of both Killian Tillie and Geno Crandall.

In our latest episode, our heroes revel in smacking aside Santa Clara in the Bulldogs’ West Coast Conference opener. The return of Tillie and Crandall provided the headlines, and we take a look at a full roster might mean moving forward.

Those stories, plus did you know it’s been 23 years since Gonzaga lost a WCC opener? Care to take a trip down memory lane? We’ve also got Zykera Rice ripping it up as the Gonzaga women now have their highest national ranking ever (congrats!), we look ahead to Thursday’s matchup against the Pacific (Paper) Tigers and look even further forward to Saturday’s trip to San Francisco. This is a trip which traditionally provides trouble for Gonzaga, and we make a closer examination of just how rude a host the Dons have been in recent seasons.

And finally, we end with what will hopefully become a regular segment: Story Time with Marty and Adam. You’ll want to hang around for this one.

All this and more in the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do join us for some fun, won’t you?

It’s a new year, a new week and a new episode of Free Ira Brown!

That’s right, dear FIBbers, the boys are back from their holiday hiatus and they’re here to welcome you to 2019. In our newest installment, our heroes review the trio of holiday cupcakes that were the Denver, North Alabama and Cal State Bakersfield matchups.

Those stories, plus we give some grades to Gonzaga’s non-conference season, review the unexpectedly strong showing by West Coast Conference teams not named Saint Mary’s, check in with the Gonzaga women and look forward to kicking off WCC play against Santa Clara (well, hello, Geno and Killian! Nice to see you again!).

We also take some time to chat about why it’s important to remember where the program came from, and why not every non-major conference team who is exceeding expectations is the next Gonzaga.

And finally, we finish things off with some New Year’s resolutions which will be 100% strictly adhered to without any semblance of a doubt. Nope, no doubt at all.

All this and more on the latest episode of Free Ira Brown, THE Gonzaga Hoops Podcast. Do ring in the New Year with us, won’t you?